LIVING AS CHAMPS

TUSCALOOSA - Reminders are everywhere, ranging from subtle
to obvious.

They placed the crystal football and trophy in a
second-floor window of the Alabama football building,
illuminated at night and visible to passing motorists on
Paul Bryant Drive.

Radio clips of a special season blare on speakers outside
Coleman Coliseum. They needed another wall for the latest
Sports Illustrated cover, with a blow-up coronation of the
latest game lining the other side of a hallway featuring
previous covers of Paul "Bear" Bryant, Brodie
Croyle and, of course, Nick Saban.

The SEC championship trophy and Heisman Trophy are encased
steps away, in an area football players pass each day on the
way from the locker room to coaches' offices.

Then there was senior quarterback Greg McElroy exiting the
complex last week wearing a T-shirt from the fast-food chain
In-N-Out Burger.

"I bought it in California," McElroy said.

For McElroy and other players, pats on the back have been
commonplace. After all, this team just returned from a visit
to the White House, where President Obama paid tribute to
the Crimson Tide's first national championship since
1992.

Tailback Mark Ingram gets the brunt of the fanfare, having
won the program's first Heisman, but he cautions
it's "not just for me, but all of us."

"We just won the national championship and the SEC
championship," Ingram said. "Every player is
getting it."

So, five practices into spring drills, Alabama's 37-21
victory over Texas in the Jan. 7 BCS national championship
game still feels close enough to touch.

"Obviously, things around here have changed from last year to this year," Saban said, "and our players have to be adaptable to change to the new circumstance that they're in. They're going to have to create a new identity for this team."...